A City Built on Freight
More trade crosses the border at Laredo than at any other U.S. land port. Port Laredo reports about $354 billion in trade for 2025, and the World Trade Bridge alone handled more than 16,000 commercial trucks a day. That traffic supports hundreds of local trucking companies, customs brokers, freight forwarders, warehouses, yards, repair shops and fuel stops, many of them family owned and many with partners or affiliates in Nuevo Laredo or Monterrey. BOMCAS prepares returns for Laredo businesses remotely.
The franchise tax and entity rules are covered on the Texas business tax page; Laredo's freight and border businesses are the subject here.
The Filings
Laredo companies have no Texas income tax. Corporations, S corporations and partnerships file their federal returns, and every LLC, corporation and limited partnership files the Texas franchise tax report each May, even when no tax is due. A business with an owner or affiliate in Mexico usually has extra U.S. information returns as well.
Trucking and Drayage
Laredo carriers range from one-truck owner-operators to fleets of several hundred tractors, plus the drayage companies that shuttle trailers across the bridges. Their returns depend on depreciation of tractors and trailers, which can be very large in a year of fleet replacement, on how drivers are paid, and on fuel and per diem records. Owner-operators leased to a carrier file Schedule C and can use the special per diem rate for transportation workers. Heavy vehicles also mean an annual Form 2290 highway use tax filing, and interstate fleets file International Fuel Tax Agreement returns.
Customs Brokers and Forwarders
Brokers and forwarders handle duties, fees and freight charges on behalf of importers. These amounts pass through their accounts but are not their revenue, and the books and return should show them separately. For the franchise tax, certain flow-through funds paid to others can be excluded from total revenue, which can change the result considerably for a high-volume broker.
Warehouses and Yards
Bonded warehouses, cross-dock operations and trailer yards hold goods for importers and exporters. Their returns turn on long-lived buildings, paving and equipment, where cost segregation and bonus depreciation can bring deductions forward. Inventory they hold for others is not theirs for tax purposes, but goods they own and ship out of Texas may qualify for the freeport property tax exemption.
Retail for Mexican Shoppers
San Bernardo Avenue, downtown and the malls near the interstate sell clothing, electronics and household goods to shoppers who cross from Nuevo Laredo. Sales swing with the exchange rate and border wait times, so inventory and margins can change quickly. Stores that sell for export need records that hold up under the sales tax rules as well as on the income tax return.
Gas and Royalties
Webb County has long been one of the main natural gas counties in South Texas. Ranch families, mineral owners and small operators in Laredo receive royalties and working interest income. Royalty owners report on Schedule E and usually claim percentage depletion, while working interest owners may deduct intangible drilling costs in the year paid.
Our Review
- Fleet purchases, depreciation and Form 2290.
- Driver pay, per diem and fuel records.
- Pass-through duties and freight for brokers.
- Warehouse buildings and cost segregation.
- Royalty and working interest income.
- Foreign owners and related-party transactions.
How We Begin
Share your accounting file, bank and fuel card statements, equipment lists, prior returns and any agreements with Mexican partners. We review everything first, send our questions in one list and walk you through the drafts before filing.
Laredo Business Tax Preparation Questions
Do trucking companies in Laredo file Form 2290?
Yes, for heavy highway vehicles, usually each year by August 31 for the period starting July 1.
Are duties collected by a customs broker revenue?
No. They are pass-through funds, and some flow-through amounts can be excluded from franchise tax revenue.
Can owner-operators claim per diem?
Yes. Transportation workers away from home can use a special federal per diem rate for meals.
Does Laredo have a business income tax?
No. There is no city or state income tax; the Texas franchise tax applies to most entities.
Talk to BOMCAS About Business Tax Preparation in Laredo
The return is only as good as the load-by-load books, driver payroll and sales and export records behind it. Owners' profits flow to their own returns, fleet decisions go through planning, missed fuel or payroll filings through late filing, and Mexican ownership through cross-border tax. Beyond the port, the statewide rules for personal tax returns, sales and use tax, bookkeeping, payroll, tax planning, back taxes and cross-border matters are on our Texas pages, starting from the Texas overview.
Send BOMCAS a few lines about your Laredo fleet, brokerage, store or family and we will reply with a first step and a list of records for a quote. Write through the contact page or the form below, call 780-667-5250 or email info@bomcas.ca. Our other Laredo services are listed on the Laredo overview. The information here is general and not advice for your business or family.